Elopak has recently launched a new paperboard for fresh liquids in chilled distribution chains. Compared to cartons made with standard board, the Natural White Board reduces the packaging’s carbon footprint by up to 14%.
It was designed in collaboration with Elopak’s long-term partner Stora Enso, with the ambition to make this development available across the company’s range of Pure-Pak® cartons in all markets.
The new paperboard offers all the functionality and quality protection of Elopak’s standard white board but with a reduction in carbon emissions. The board is finished with a specialized process, creating a naturally smooth outer surface and providing the same performance as with the traditional clay coating used in standard beverage cartons. This process enables reduction of the plastic coating (i.e., polyethylene), further improving the carton’s carbon footprint.
“Drawing upon decades of innovation, the Pure-Pak® carton remains iconic in fiber-based packaging. With the introduction of the Natural White Board, customers can further improve their carbon footprint significantly,” said Uwe Schilze, Executive Vice President Products and Development, Elopak. “This latest innovation empowers our customers to choose a more sustainable packaging solution while still benefitting from traditional white paperboard that offers greater design flexibility and stands out on the supermarket shelves.”
The development of the new white paperboard followed similar principles to Elopak’s Natural Brown Board, which was first introduced in 2017. Both paperboards have no clay coating, minimising their carbon footprint. Natural Brown Board is made with wholly unbleached paper fibres, which require less energy and chemicals to produce.
The new white paperboard uses bleached fibres in only the top layer of the carton, delivering a clean white finish while also using less polyethylene than standard paperboard.
Norwegian organic dairy Rørosmeieriet was the first company to trial cartons made with the new paperboard for its line of organic milk. The company, which had previously been the first Elopak customer to adopt Natural Brown Board, was able to easily integrate cartons with the new white board into its existing Elopak filling machines.
